2018 Film Festival

Two young women (Ellen Page and Kate Mara, both superb) on opposite sides of the US death-penalty debate become lovers, putting themselves at risk of familial ostracism. Tali Shalom-Ezer’s disarming, intelligent and surprisingly subtle work is observational drama at its finest.

Schedule

film synopsis

Israeli director Tali Shalom-Ezer netted the Best Israeli Film award at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2014 for her debut, Princess. Her intelligent and disarming sophomore drama—her first American feature—offers stellar performances from Ellen Page and Kate Mara as friends-turned-lovers trying to negotiate some common ground despite standing on opposite sides of the US death-penalty debate.
With her father on death row for the murder of her mother (he says he’s innocent), Lucy (Page) and her siblings have made a habit of traveling the Midwest to protest the death penalty at execution vigils. At one such event, Lucy tentatively befriends pro-death-penalty advocate Mercy (Mara) and a torrid sexual relationship is soon underway, putting both at risk of familial ostracism. Shalom-Ezer’s subtle guidance is evident throughout, elevating the human story at the heart of her tale and never stooping to preach about the complex issue surrounding it.